WHAT IS MAN?

November 2, 2021

  1. STARTING POINT: 1 Tim. 2:1-6

 

  1. PRAYING FROM: PSALM 8

A Psalm of David: He gives man dominion

 

“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2     Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3     When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4     What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5     For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6     Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7     All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8     The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9     O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

 

  1. MEANING WITHIN THE SCRIPTURES:
  2. 8:1 This hymn of praise is more specifically identified as a creation hymn (along with Ps. 19:1–6; Ps. 33:1-8; Ps. 104:1-5) in its focus on earth and the heavens, terms describing the whole of creation (Gen. 1:1; Exod. 20:11; Neh. 9:6). Majesty, a synonym for “honor” or “glory,” and name, representing the person and not just the designation, are parallel. They demonstrate that God and his glory fill all of creation. This language distinguishes God from his creation (he is transcendent) but also shows that he is present (he is immanent) within it.
  3. What is Man – He Is a Child of the Dust.
  4. Human, earthly, mortal.
  5. Created so.

8:3–4 The vastness of creation is contrasted with the smallness and insignificance of a human being. This is in the form of a question: How is it that God would remember and look after (both words mean “pay attention to and care for”) people? This is perplexing in light of the difference between the size and scope of the cosmos and the relative puniness of humanity. The terms “human being” and son of man are parallel and are used to describe humankind as a collective whole (Ps. 146:3; Num. 23:19; Is. 51:12).

  1. He Is a Child of God.

8:5–8 The answer to the perplexing question in v. 4 is found in these verses, which are essentially a commentary on Gen. 1:26–28. While the perception is that humans are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, the reality is found in God’s purpose for creating humanity. The word translated as God (Hb ’elohim) is plural here and could be understood as indicating “gods” or “heavenly beings” instead of its usual sense of a plural of majesty emphasizing God’s greatness. Therefore, the LXX, which is quoted in Heb. 2:7, translates it as “angels.” The point is the same in both cases, even if the referent is different: because of their divinely given purpose, humans are functionally closer to God and the angels than to the animals. We have been made … ruler over creation, expressing humanity’s function of dominion (Gen. 1:26). The image of everything under his feet is developed in the rest of Scripture as a picture of the reign of God’s King, Jesus Christ (the second Adam), over his kingdom (1 Cor. 15:25, 27; Eph. 1:22; Heb. 2:8).

  1. The thought of God (Gen. 1:26).
  2. The creation of God (Gen. 1:27).
  3. The image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27). This image is mental, not moral. It was not lost in the fall. It consists of mind, intelligence, sensibility, and will. If it had been lost in the fall, the Bible would have mentioned it (Gen. 5:1; 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9).

III.   Man Is an Object of God’s Love and Care.

God loves him, is mindful of him, visits him, protects him, and provides for him.

  1. Man Is the Subject of Wonderful Achievement.
  2. Man Is the Subject of Wonderful Possibilities.
  3. Socially, intellectually, and morally.
  4. Created like God mentally, he can, he may, become like God morally. Like God mentally by creation. Like God morally by recreation or regeneration.

            8:9 The psalm ends as it began, forming an (“bookends”) for its content.

 

  1. VI. THE A-MEN OF ROMANS 16:20, 24, 27

16:20   “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. A-men.”

16:24   “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. A-men.”